On March 13, 2013, a Pope Francis was chosen to succeed Pope Benedict XVI. As Pope, he has been very different from his predecessors. He is one of the only popes who were not from Europe, but this is not the main change that he has made. Pope Francis has tried to make Catholics more accepting of others and change the position of pope from a royal-like position to a position more similar to others.

Pope Francis has spoken outside of what most Catholics believe, saying that “If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?” This has caused the Church to claim that Francis did not mean this and that Catholics should still believe that homosexuality is a sinful act. Pope Francis has also been shown to say that people who are homosexual or have different religions should be treated with respect even if you don’t approve of their way of life.

From the beginning of his papacy, Pope Francis has had a different way of living than other popes. He refused to wear a traditional Catholic cape at his inauguration and had his ceremonial ring made of silver instead of the more expensive gold. This helped him to become less like a royal figure. In addition, he kept the same cross he wore as a cardinal. He has also gone out to help the poor instead of staying in his home in Vatican City talking about it. This makes him a more progressive pope than his predecessors and is helping to make Catholics more accepting and less focused on money.